Committee on Women's Rights in the Euro-Mediterranean Countries. Tangier (Morocco) - 28 and 29 May 2016 RECOMMENDATION

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1 PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN ASSEMBLEE PARLEMENTAIRE UNION POUR LA MEDITERRANEE الجمعية البرلمانية لالتحاد من اجل المتوسط Committee on Women's Rights in the Euro-Mediterranean Countries Tangier (Morocco) - 28 and 29 May 2016 RECOMMENDATION on " Women's role in countering terrorism and promoting peace in the Euro-Med Region" Chairwoman of the Committee: Ms. Leila CHETTAOUI (Tunisia). EN 1/5 EN

2 The Committee on Women's Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean: 1. Takes note of the international and regional instruments on «Women's role in countering terrorism and promoting peace», including in particular the Security Council Resolution number 1325 (2000) on "Women, Peace and Security", the regional strategy for the Arab League issued in 2012 on "The protection of Arab Women: security and peace", the Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights of 19 September 1981 adopted by UNESCO; and the Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, adopted in Cairo on 5 August 1990 by the Organization of the Islamic Conference; 2. Stresses that the States and Society need, today, defensive and preventive measures to combat the phenomenon of terrorism, radicalization and recruitment, given the instable security and political situation in the Euro-Mediterranean region; 3. Draws attention to the fact that women constitute the first line of protection and play a crucial role as agents of change in developing and implementing prevention strategies against terrorism, and the necessity of promoting their capacities and concretisation of their role in order to take advantage of their potential, namely in the field of education and upbringing of generations, strengthening the family, social and community cohesion, promoting the values of coexistence, openness and tolerance and in establishing security and peace in the region; through eliminating all sources and causes of instability, including foreign occupation as defined by the United Nations (1); 4. Emphasizes the increasing role of women and women s organizations in the regulations and activities aiming at confronting violations of women s rights in the Euro-Med area and protecting them from any form of violence, including that of foreign occupation source, as defined by the United Nations, in order to fight and eliminate one of the source of terrorism and instability in the region (1); 5. Calls for intensification of statistics, researches and studies, creation of structures for of research and monitoring of existing instruments, as well as, exchanging of best practices between States in order to understand the relation between women and terrorism and the roles played by women as victims, active participants or agents of change to counteract radicalisation; Calls for intensification of studies and researches on women s status under occupation and how assistance could be offered to them; EN 2/5 EN

3 6. Draws attention to the fact that the psychological and ideological incitement, mobilization, recruitment and preparation for traveling to hot spots; are performed through the Internet and have nothing to do with Muslim religion. Calls for more detailed analyses and studies to detect terrorist recruitment channels and to identify appropriate response tools; 7. Firmly denounces the funding sources of terrorist organizations and calls on the international community to investigate and sanction this organized crime and endeavor to counter these organizations and to pursue them in order to eliminate their roots causes of radicaliation; and calls on the international community to strengthen all dimensions of the fight against terrorism according to a multidimensional approach including the enforcement of measures against the funding of terrorism; 8. Urges Member State governments of the PA-UfM to adopt an Euro-Mediterranean strategy on the "role of women in fighting against terrorism and promoting peace", drawing efficient national plans to counter this phenomenon, enacting and implementing the laws relating to advancing gender equality; Asks governments to launch networks of women, who want to engage in the fight against terrorism and the influx of young people into terrorist organisations; 9. Urges Member State governments of the PA-UfM to ratify and lift all reservations to the CEDAW convention while respecting the cultural specificities of the countries, and propose cooperation in that respect; Insists that equality between women and men is an essential tool for full empowerment of women at all levels of society, including participation in political decision-making, in women's rights organisations and in civil society movements promoting peace and dialogue. Women must be more involved in the fight against terrorism as a problem that threatens all of humanity; 10. Emphasizes that consolidating security and peace in the Euro-Med area demands exerting all efforts to eliminate causes of tension and instability, resulting from continuity of foreign occupation, as defined by the United Nations, to one people of the area (1); 11. Calls for disseminating the culture of human rights, democracy, citizenship and preventing incitement to violence and extremism in educational and social programs, and all religions in the countries in addition to the work to sensitize women to their important and vital capacity as agents of change for countering extremist violence at local and national level; EN 3/5 EN

4 12. Stresses the importance of enhancing the role of women in civil society organizations in order to become equal participants in spreading the values of tolerance, dialogue and coexistence, in addition to the diffusion of positive messages that call for peace, given the Association of Women against violence in a partnership with the Moroccan Organization for Human Rights; 13. Indicates that the terrorist organizations recruit today the European Muslim women in Europe and abroad who suffer from multiple forms of discrimination; The Committee requests the treatment without discrimination of students, workers and women in general, coming from the south shore, who have not been able to integrate themselves, because of racism and exclusion; Governments should ensure and protect young girls and women to prevent them from joining the ranks of terrorists; Governments should establish monitoring systems and action against the selections of women and men with an inclination to travel to the terrorist organisations; 14. Calls for the need to intensify financial and logistical support by European Union Countries for the benefit of south Mediterranean countries; Emphasizes the need to include the gender perspective in the consideration and approval of new projects of the Union for the Mediterranean, in order to empower women economically, socially and politically, in addition to involving them in assuming responsibility and taking decision positions. Envisages tangible joint projects at university and professional level among women; 15. Requests to encourage women's access to positions of decision-making at local, regional, legislative and governmental levels in order to establish horizontal and vertical policy allowing the creation of mechanisms and means that help implementing the development programs and projects, and which enable the targeted women, by the terrorist thought, to immunize themselves physically, psychologically and morally, and become able to coexist in tolerance within the Union for Mediterranean countries. (1) Reservation of Ms. Maria Teresa GIMENEZ BARBAT (Member of European Parliament) - Parag 3, Parag 4 et Parag 10. **** EN 4/5 EN

5 Activity report 2015/2016 During the Session of 2015/2016 the Committee on Women's Rights of the PA-UfM held a meeting in Rabat on 1 April It discussed the following points: - Exchange of views on the theme "Women's role in countering terrorism and promoting peace in the Euro-Med Region". - Debate on the permanent item: "The situation of women in armed conflicts". - Debate on the permanent item: "Women and migration". It decided to establish two groups of research and contact, each one consists of four members, respecting the parity North/South. The first group is responsible for the theme "the situation of women in armed conflicts." It is composed of: Ms. Fatiha Bakkali, Member of the House of Representatives of Morocco. Ms. Monia Brahim, Member of Tunisian Assembly of People's Representatives. Ms. Maria Mussini, Member of Italian Senate. Ms. Claudia Dall'Agnol, Member of Luxembourg Parliament. The second group is responsible for the theme "Women and Migration". It is composed of: Ms. Akila Hachichi, Vice-Chair of the Committee, Member of National People's Assembly of Algeria. Ms. Hamdieh Alquaider, Member of the Jordanian Parliament. Mr. Miguel VIEGAS, Member of European Parliament. One member of the North Shore of the Mediterranean (tbc). Each group will prepare a report and submit it to the Committee during its next meetings. EN 5/5 EN